Leaping Lizards' Message to Robots: Get a Tail!

January 4, 2012

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Berkeley scientists who studied how lizards manage to leap successfully, even when they slip and stumble, found that lizards swing their tails upward to prevent them from pitching head-over-heels into a rock. But after the team added a tail to a robotic car named Tailbot, they discovered that counteracting the effect of a slip is not as simple as throwing your tail in the air. Instead, robots and lizards must actively adjust the angle of their tails just right to remain upright.
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SourceUniversity of California, Berkeley

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